Greece will immediately draft the country's first comprehensive national action plan against anti-Semitism, announced the government's Vice-President Panagiotis Pikramenos in the opening address an international conference at Ioannina on Friday.
At the two-day conference in northern Greece, "Fighting Antisemitism & Holocaust Distortion & Denial on the Digital Battlefield" (Oct. 7-9), Pikramenos noted that the process to create the action plan will start in the coming weeks. Contributing to it will be relevant ministries, public bodies and the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias also addressed the conference in a pre-recorded message, noting that: "The torrent of fake news, hate speech and conspiracy theories is spreading through the internet and social media." He noted that "it is our duty to stop this new 'pandemic' as soon as possible."
The conference is being attended among others by Mayor of Ioannina Dr. Moses Elisaf, Secretary General for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs George Kalantzis, Ambassador of Israel to Greece Noam Katz, President of the IHRA Ambassador Ann Bernes (via a recorded message), President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece David Saltiel, and Head of the Greek Delegation to the IHRA Georgios Polydorakis.
